Lake Norman Real Estate: How to Harvest the Rain!

The good news is that many towns around Lake Norman are loosening their water restrictions thanks to some much needed rain this past summer. But, this doesn’t mean that we Lake Norman homeowners shouldn’t conserve water.

Mooresville’s Rain Barrel

Harvesting rain is one of the easiest and most instantly rewarding efforts when creating a “green” home. According to the Town of Mooresville who was selling these rain barrels last May , it takes just 1/4″ of rain to fill this 80 gallon barrel! (I’m not sure if they are still selling them but you can call them at 704.663.3800. I will provide other resources below.)

The practice of rainwater harvesting, the process of collecting rainwater that falls naturally and storing it for the future goes back to the ancient civilizations. But, thanks to modern technology, more homeowners, even in Lake Norman, are understanding the value of our environment and our water supplies and are creating water harvesting systems in their own yards.

The simplest and most common way to capture rain is by removing a downspout and positioning a water barrel on a flat, level surface to catch the rain as in the photo above.

More elavorate above ground systems designed by such companies as Rain Harvest Systems can use up to 10,000 gallon portable water storage tanks.

On Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Charlotte this past August, Aquaeras installed their automated rainwater collection system using this 1700 gallon underground tank. The system included a tank, pump and controller which can actually pump water to your irrigation systems or even for indoor use.

In Charlotte, Lifewater is a new company that installs rain harvesting systems as well as designs waterfalls, streams and ponds using rainwater. According to their owner, Scott Barfield, typical uses for rain water are:

Landscape irrigation

Laundry

Toilet flushing

Car washing

Filling pools and fountains

Whether you merely want to collect rainwater from you downspouts or want to include a complete system while building a new home, any effort to save our precious Lake Norman water is a great way towards creating your “green” home!

You can also find Rain Barrels at Home Depot, Lowe’s and many other online resources. Just Google Rain Barrels! Or, check out: RainBarrelSource andRainEscape